Target 7 learned Howard Bruce, otherwise known as the Ether Man, almost got away with a number of violent rapes, but an innovative tactic kept the cases alive.

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Just weeks ago, Bruce came back to New Mexico to plead guilty to rape charges stemming from the 1990s. But before the clarity, there were years of mystery.

Albuquerque police and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office didn’t know his name, but they did know his DNA profile. The problem was that the statute of limitations was running out on some of the cases in 2000.

“The cases would have never survived. The statute of limitations would've run. We would've been prohibited from bringing any charges against this individual,” former Chief Deputy District Attorney Pete Dinelli said.

But one night, then Albuquerque police Detective Michelle Garcia was watching a news show about the state of New York indicting unidentified suspects solely on their DNA. It was an unprecedented idea that then Deputy District Attorney Julie Altweis ran with.

Within two weeks, a grand jury indicted the man’s DNA on 44 counts and eventually Bruce was connected to the DNA.

The players in the case were also integral in getting the statute of limitations changed in New Mexico when it comes to sex crimes.